


Keep Your Hands To Yourself

by Fogfire



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 13:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16388252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fogfire/pseuds/Fogfire
Summary: Fluff Nr. 13: “God, you’re so beautiful.”Reader is an engineer and Bones tampers with things in med bay to get them down





	Keep Your Hands To Yourself

Ach, Lass,” Scotty shoves his body through the small opening to look down at where you’re fiddling with a Panel, “Can you take a five and check up on Bio-Bed Number 3? McCoy says it’s malfunctioning.”

“Number 3?” You ask, “What’s up with the Bio-Beds? I’ve just fixed Nr. 2 last week and Nr. 5 the week before that.”

Scotty rolls his eyes. “I don’t know about that, Lass, but the Doctor says it’s malfunctioning.”

“Alright, I’m gonna finish this and check up on it then.”

“Anderson will finish it for you, just go and fix the bed before he calls again.”

To say you were annoyed about the interruption was an understatement, but Scotty was your superior officer and you didn’t want to fight with him if you could help it.

McCoy is pressing buttons on said Bio-Bed when you arrive, his brows furrowed, his lips pursed. You can’t remember him ever looking less angry and frustrated than he looks now.

“Hey,” you greet him and he turns around.

“Finally! What is wrong with those Beds?”

“Well, I don’t know,” you say and step closer, “You were the one calling. Is it the same malfunction as the other ones?”

“I’m a doctor, not an engineer, how would I know?” He asks and you have to fight to not roll your eyes. He can really be as annoying as he is good looking.

“Well, what symptoms does it show?”

“It’s a Bed, a machine, not a patient.”

“Doesn’t mean it can’t show symptoms. How about I take a look at it and you use the other beds instead?”

You kneel down beside him and open the panel below the Control Pad to connect your PADD and run a diagnosis program. A few minutes into the program he’s still standing next to you and you turn to look at him, your left eyebrow raised.

“Can I help you?”

You could be wrong, but he looks as if he’s been caught in the act.

“I… I’m going to get myself some coffee. Do you want some?”

“Sure,” you agree, hoping that he will give you the space you need to work.

Five minutes later he puts the cup down next to you with a bit more force than necessary. Coffee spills out on the floor but he doesn’t curse and you look up at him, only to reel back. He looks angry, no, he looks really really mad.

“Is… everything okay?” You ask and he grunts, opening his mouth before snapping it shut again and stomping away.

Now, that is definitely some weird behavior.

Turns out, the malfunctioning of Bio-Bed 3 has the same background as the malfunction of the other beds. A rather suspicious background.

When it happened on the first bed, you were convinced one of the new nurses must have pressed the wrong buttons. Then it happened again, but some patients try their hands on the Bio-Beds when no one is watching, so you turned a blind eye to it. but it has occurred too often now, to be a coincidence anymore.

Still. You don’t want to accuse anyone, not when you can’t prove it.

Doesn’t mean you can’t build a trap on Bio-Bed 2, the only Bed that hasn’t malfunctioned before.

“That one works fine,” Doctor McCoy pops up behind you when you try to open the panel for better access.

“That’s good,” you tell him, “I’m just checking if everything is in order. If the relays are weak, I can change them now instead of coming up here every week.”

“Oh… Well, okay.” He keeps standing next to you again as if he’s checking on you. You look up to him. “Everyone else is healthy, I assume?”

“What?”

“The patients. No one here you have to look at?”

“Oh,” he moves his head in what can only be described as both nodding and shaking his head at the same time. If you wouldn’t know Dr. McCoy as a grumpy, stern man, you would have thought he acted a bit flustered.

“Everyone is healthy,” he repeated what you said, but is betrayed by his very patients just a second later. There’s a retching noise coming from one of the exam rooms and the arcadian science crew member on Bed 7 is caught in a violent coughing fit.

He turns and leaves you without another word and you turn to do your job as well.

“Everything settled?” Mr. Scott asks when you return half an hour later. Dr. McCoy hasn’t reappeared from the exam rooms and as the sound of retching hadn’t stopped, you didn’t want to go and look for him either. He would notice you left anyway and the beds were working perfectly fine now too.

“I believe so. But I… well, I booby-trapped one of the Beds.”

“You what?” Your superior officer looks at you and you smile at him. “I believe someone is messing with the Bio Beds and I want to know who and why.”

He gives you an exasperated look.

“And what did you do exactly? I was trying to stay on good terms with the Doctor.”

“Well, whoever is messing with the Bed’s will get blue hands.”

Mr. Scott sighs and waves you off, but there’s the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and you know he isn’t the least bit mad at you.

One week later the Jefferies tube you’re working in vibrates under the harsh sound of knocking. You stick your head out and come face to face with your superior officer. He doesn’t look happy.

“Is it the Bed?” You ask, not hiding your excitement. “Who got the blue hands.”

“It’s the Replicator, Lass. Get up there and fix it.”

You don’t put up a fight, you just pack your stuff and follow Mr. Scott out of the engine rooms.

“Oh, and make sure you stick around long enough so he can gather up his courage.”

“What?” You turn around to look at Mr. Scott who sends you a mischievous smile and pops back into his office without another word.

“What?” You whisper to yourself and turn around again and walk towards med bay.

Dr. McCoy is not waiting for you when you step in, but he’s leaning over a patient and his head snaps up when your feet hit the Med Bay floor as if he’s sensing your presence.

Or maybe he’s just very careful of who steps into Med Bay, you correct yourself and cross the distance between him and you.

“I’m here for the Replicator.”

“Oh, yes, follow me.”

You look at his hands, when he walks past you, at the gloves he’s wearing. You turn your head and look at Bed Nr. 2. It’s deserted, a lone blue handprint on the blank white mattress.

“Are you coming?” McCoy calls and you follow him quickly, trying to come up with a plan, no, with an idea what this is, could be.

You don’t have to look long to find the problem with the Replicator. But you can’t fix it with the tools you have. Not when someone used a scalpel to cut through the wires.

And just as you close the Panel on the side of the Replicator, McCoy appears at your side, gloves still on, eyebrows still furrowed.

“Can I talk to you?” You ask, your voice serious, “About the Replicator?”

He looks caught again, but he nods and leads you to his office, closing the door behind you.

“What do you want to talk about?” He asks and you’re pretty sure you’re not imagining that his voice sounds rougher now than it has before.

“Permission to speak freely, Sir.”

“Permission granted.”

You take a deep breath, before stepping forward, locking your eyes on his, ignoring your brain trying to figure out the exact color of them.

“Show me your hands, please.”

“What?”

“Show me your hands. Pull off your gloves. Now, please.”

“What? Why?”

“I believe you know why. You were messing with the Bio-Beds and you cut the wires on the Replicator.”

“I wasn’t-”

You don’t let him speak. You only raise your voice so he has to listen to you.

“The only thing I don’t understand is why. Why are you sabotaging your own Med Bay?”

“I’m not sabot-”

“You’re the CMO, it’s affecting your reputation as well. Do you find some sick satisfaction in damaging the stuff around you?”

“I’m not-”

“Are you trying to make me get on Mr. Scott’s bad side, or-”

“You’re beautiful!” He yells, effectively shutting you up.

“What?” It’s your turn to gape at him in surprise.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he repeats, shaking his head at himself, “And I’m a fool, because I can’t make my brain and mouth work around you.”

“So you thought sabotaging would be a better way to get my attention?” You ask, trying to fight the smile that’s spreading on your lips.

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” He sends you a tentative smile back and you sigh and look down at your dirty shoes before looking up again.

“If you’d ask me now, you know, if I want to go out with you, I might say yes.”

“You might?” He asks and you’re sure now that his voice sounds a tad bit rougher.

“I might. If you promise to keep your hands to yourself.”

“What?” He asks, eyes wide in surprise.

“Yeah,” you grin, “I have other things to do. I can’t come up here every week to fix what you’ve messed up again.”

“Oh…” He laughs and you laugh as well, less about the joke, more to lighten the tension in the room. He still hasn’t asked.

“Well,” he clears his throat, “I would ask you, you know… Under the condition that you tell me how I get the blue stuff off my hands.”

You smirk. “Looks like we have a deal here.”

“Yes, we do.”

image  
-Extra -

“Well, took ye long enough,” Mr. Scott exclaims and drops down heavy on a free chair on your table.

You look up from the book you were reading, one of your hands entangled with Leonards, resting on your knee.

Your superior officer wears a smug grin. Your boyfriend is flustered.

“I sense a secret,” you sing and focus on Mr. Scott. He looks like he’s dying to tell you.

“Well, I was waiting for you to find out by yourself, but you’re awfully slow.”

“I’m not,” you disagree but Leonard shakes his head at you.

“You are. Didn’t you notice that it was always you doing the repair work?”

You open your mouth to protest but close it again.

“And you let me rig the Bed!” You remind Mr. Scott and he grins. “It wasn’t my idea,” he reminds you, “But as my matchmaking has worked out fine again, I will take on my next target.” He gets up and walks through Mess Hall, plopping down in a chair beside the Captain.

You turn to look at Leonard who furrows his brows in annoyance.

“He’s not going to… is he?”

You shrug your shoulders. “He obviously knows what he’s doing, so… why bother?”

-


End file.
